{"id":11342,"date":"2024-09-16T09:14:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11342"},"modified":"2024-09-16T09:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T14:14:24","slug":"lululemon-for-the-gold-uw-stout-alum-helps-develop-canadas-olympics-apparel","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/lululemon-for-the-gold-uw-stout-alum-helps-develop-canadas-olympics-apparel\/","title":{"rendered":"Lululemon for the gold: UW-Stout alum helps develop Canada\u2019s Olympics apparel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Kirby Hanson, with her husband and fellow alum, Tyler, and their sons \/ Kirby Hanson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kirby Hanson proud to see her team\u2019s product come to life on international athletics stage<\/h2>\n

As UW-Stout\u00a0alum\u00a0Kirby Hanson<\/strong>\u00a0watched the Summer Olympics in Paris from her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, she and her family had a more personal reason to cheer on their nation\u2019s athletes.<\/p>\n

Hanson, an apparel design and development 2007 graduate, is the technical development manager for lululemon athletic apparel company, the official outfitter of\u00a0Team Canada, which includes more than 430 Olympians and Paralympians.<\/p>\n

She was excited to see the apparel her team developed as Canada\u2019s athletes made their way to the medals podium, donning the\u00a0Team Canada x lululemon Collection<\/a>, complete with the traditional red and white maple leaf motif.<\/p>\n

Hanson, originally from Isanti, Minn., believes UW-Stout gave her a strong foundation to jumpstart her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe professors were engaging and pushed us to think outside the box and think past a sketch. As a visual learner, it was important for me to have hands-on projects and real-life scenarios to experience.\u00a0That really set me up for success,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hanson\u00a0brought her talents to lululemon\u00a0in 2015 when she\u00a0started as a fit specialist in women\u2019s product. As well as helping manage the Team Canada line, she is the technical development manager for men\u2019s casual, overseeing a team of nine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love most is mentoring others, the collaboration and seeing our product come to life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Team Canada Paris 2024, Paralympians Zak Madell and Cindy Oullet, in lululemon apparel \/ lululemon athletica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Developing apparel is a very collaborative process between designers, technical developers and pattern makers, Hanson added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe first understand the aesthetic and type of fit designers want, then we work with our vendors to make samples. We take a lot of care in our fittings to make sure we nail the balance and fit of every piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt lululemon, we also want to make sure all our product is functional, so there is a lot of wear testing and feedback along the way to make sure we meet our guests\u2019 expectations,\u201d Hanson said.<\/p>\n

Hanson loves the company culture, its priority of supporting the whole person \u2013 physically, mentally and socially \u2013 and how it puts employees first.<\/p>\n

\u201cLululemon also has some big sustainability impact goals,\u201d she said, as the company is working to reduce its environmental impact, including reducing wasted materials and partnering with leading sustainable materials innovators.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Lululemon apparel for Team Canada, Winter Olympics, Beijing 2022 \/ lululemon athletica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hanson encourages current apparel students to \u201cbe a sponge, ask lots of questions, write things down and keep a growth mindset so that you are always learning.\u00a0Learn from your mistakes, learn from things you did right and learn from others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lululemon, based in Vancouver, has more than 710 stores and 38,000 employees around the world. This was the company\u2019s first Team Canada Summer Olympics collection. It previously designed the team\u2019s clothing for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.<\/p>\n

UW-Stout\u2019s\u00a0apparel design and development program, now\u00a0fashion design and development<\/a>, is part of the university\u2019s\u00a0School of Art and Design<\/a>. With more than 1,300 students, it is the largest public art and design\u00a0school in the Upper Midwest.<\/p>\n

SOAD offers 10 undergraduate degrees, including\u00a0animation and digital media<\/a>;\u00a0game design and development<\/a>;\u00a0graphic design and interactive media<\/a>;\u00a0industrial and product design<\/a>;\u00a0interior design<\/a>;\u00a0studio art<\/a>;\u00a0arts administration and entrepreneurship<\/a>;\u00a0fashion design and development<\/a>;\u00a0video production<\/a>; and, new this fall,\u00a0illustration<\/a>. It offers two master\u2019s programs in\u00a0design<\/a>; and\u00a0design, entrepreneurship and sustainability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s 2022-23\u00a0First Destination Outcomes<\/a>\u00a0survey reported that 100% of new fashion design graduates were either working within the industry with an average yearly salary of $53,000 or are continuing their education.<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Abbey Goers<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwstout.edu\/about-us\/news-center\/lululemon-gold-uw-stout-alum-helps-develop-canadas-olympics-apparel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kirby Hanson proud to see her team\u2019s product come to life on international athletics stage As UW-Stout\u00a0alum\u00a0Kirby Hanson\u00a0watched the Summer Olympics in Paris from her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, she and her family had a more personal reason to cheer on their nation\u2019s athletes. Hanson, an apparel design and development 2007 graduate, is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11342","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11342"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}